In a faithful narration

Nathaniel Hawthorne reads The Scarlet Letter

1804–1864 · Literature Studio AI voice Word-accuracy 100.0%

Press play — the words light up in gold as Nathaniel Hawthorne reads. This sample is free.

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Full unabridged audiobook in this voice — coming soon. The sample above is free, and the public-domain text is free everywhere. The finished edition is what will carry the voice, the restoration, and the curation.

“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp.”

About this work

The Scarlet Letter is a public-domain work, here read aloud in a faithful professional narration (no recording of Nathaniel Hawthorne's own voice survives).

Who was Nathaniel Hawthorne?

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) descended from a judge of the Salem witch trials, an inheritance of guilt that shadows nearly everything he wrote. The Scarlet Letter made him the first American novelist of moral interiority, examining sin and secrecy in a Puritan world he knew from the inside.

About the voice

No usable recording of Nathaniel Hawthorne's voice survives, so this work is read by a studio AI voice — clearly labelled, never passed off as the author.

Provenance: Studio AI voice — an AI interpretation designed in our studio; no recording of this author survives and this is not their real voice. We label every voice honestly — restored, studio AI, or disputed.

Questions

What did Nathaniel Hawthorne sound like?

No recording of Nathaniel Hawthorne's voice survives, so The Scarlet Letter is read here in a faithful professional narration — clearly labelled, never passed off as the author.

Is The Scarlet Letter in the public domain?

Yes. The Scarlet Letter is in the public domain; what Iconic Voices adds is the restored-voice narration and curation.

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